'Alternative' Medicine Is Mainstream

The evidence is mounting that diet and lifestyle are the best cures for our worst afflictions.

By

Deepak Chopra ,

Dean Ornish ,

Rustum Roy and

Andrew Weil

Updated Jan. 9, 2009 12:01 am ET

In mid-February, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the Bravewell Collaborative are convening a "Summit on Integrative Medicine and the Health of the Public." This is a watershed in the evolution of integrative medicine, a holistic approach to health care that uses the best of conventional and alternative therapies such as meditation, yoga, acupuncture and herbal remedies. Many of these therapies are now scientifically documented to be not only medically effective but also cost effective.